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Give It Some Thought - GIST

Chapter 8: Geologic Time
1. The accompanying image shows the metamorphic rock gneiss, a basaltic dike, and a
fault. Place these three features in their proper sequence and explain your logic. Marli Miller
photo.

The geological features in the image can be ordered from oldest to youngest based on the
principle of cross-cutting relationships. This principle states that intrusive or deforming
structures cross-cut—and therefore postdate—the rocks or structures they cut across. In the
image:
Gneiss is the oldest feature due to evidence of metamorphism indicating it formed deep
underground.
The basaltic dike cross-cuts the gneiss, showing it intruded after the gneiss formed.
The fault disrupts both the pre-existing gneiss and dike, demonstrating it is the youngest
feature and formed last through deformation.
Based on applying the cross-cutting relationship principle, the relative age sequence from
oldest to youngest is: 1) gneiss, 2) basaltic dike, and 3) fault. This sequencing demonstrates how
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interpreting intrusive and deformational relationships between geological structures can be used
to relatively date features.
2. A mass of granite is in contact with a layer of sandstone. Using a principle
described in this chapter, explain how you might determine whether the sandstone was
deposited on top of the granite, or whether the magma that formed the granite was
intruded after the sandstone was deposited.
To determine the relative age relationship between the granite and sandstone, It is
possible to use the principle of inclusion. This states that older rocks include fragments of
younger rocks, but not vice versa. If I were to find granite inclusions/fragments within the
sandstone, it would indicate the granite solidified first and was then eroded, with the eroded
fragments deposited in the sandstone layer above it. However, if no granite fragments are found
in the sandstone, it would suggest the sandstone was deposited first, and then the magma that
became the granite intruded the pre-existing sandstone at a later date.

3. The accompanying photo shows two layers of sedimentary rock. The lower layer is
shale from the late Mesozoic era. Note the old river channel that was carved into the shale after
it was deposited. Above is a younger layer of boulder-rich breccia. Are these layers
conformable? Explain why or why not. What term from relative dating applies to the line
separating the two layers?

These sedimentary rock layers are not conformable. Conformable layers are deposited
sequentially with no break occurring between them. In the image the e presence of an old river
channel eroded into the lower shale layer before deposition of the overlying breccia indicates a
period of non-deposition and erosion. That created an unconformity, a surface that separates
older rocks from overlaying younger rocks. Furthermore, represents a period of geologic time
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not accounted for by deposition. Also, the boundary between the shale and overlying breccia
represents an unconformity. This is because it separates the two rock units with evidence of
erosion of the older shale in between deposition of the two layers.

4. Refer to Figure 8.9, which shows the historic angular unconformity at Scotland’s
Siccar Point that James Hutton studied in the late 1700s. Refer to this photo for the following
exercises.
a. Describe in general what occurred to produce this feature.
This unconformity was produced by a period of erosion and non-deposition between two
periods of sediment deposition. The older, tilted sedimentary beds underneath were deeply
eroded before being overlaid by flat-lying younger sediments. This indicates a period of uplift,
tilting, and erosion of the older beds occurred before subsequent deposition of the overlying
beds.

b. Suggest ways in which at least three of Earth’s four spheres could have been
involved.

Hydrosphere: Erosion by water (rivers, oceans) wearing down the tilted beds
during the period of non-deposition.

Geosphere: Tilting and uplift of the rock beds from tectonic/geological processes
changing the land surface and exposing it to erosion.

Atmosphere: Weathering processes from the atmosphere, such as changes in temperature

or precipitation patterns, could have contributed to breaking down the rock during the erosion
period.

c. The Earth system is powered by energy from two sources. How are both sources
represented in the Siccar Point unconformity?
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There are two energy sources that power the Earth system. These are internal and
external. The internal energy represents geothermal heat powering the uplift and tilting of the
older beds. The external energy source is solar radiation, as weathering and erosion processes
breaking down the tilted beds are ultimately powered by energy from the sun.

5. These polished stones are called gastroliths. Explain how such objects can be
considered fossils. What category of fossil are they? Name another example of a fossil in this
category. Francois Gohier photo.

Gastroliths are considered fossils because they provide evidence of ancient organisms.
They do that even though the organism itself is not preserved. Gastroliths are a type of trace
fossil. These trace fossils represent evidence of ancient biological activity, processes, or
behaviors, rather than the preserved remains of the organism itself. They record traces of life
from things like animal trails, burrows, footprints, coprolites, etc. Gastroliths as seen in the
images are smooth pebbles found in the fossilized stomach region of certain vertebrate animals
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like birds. They served a purpose for these animals while living. Their presence within fossilized
remains allows paleontologists to study ancient behaviors and ecologies.

Another example of a trace fossil are coprolites. These are fossilized feces that can tell
about the diet of ancient creatures even though the organisms are not directly preserved. Like
gastroliths, they record traces of biology through indirect evidence left behind in rocks and
sediments.
6. If a radioactive isotope of thorium (atomic number 90, mass number 232) emits 6
alpha particles and 4 beta particles during the course of radioactive decay, what is the atomic
number and mass number of the stable daughter product?
If a radioactive isotope of thorium (atomic number 90, mass number 232) emits 6 alpha
particles and 4 beta particles during decay. It implies that the daughter isotope will have an
atomic number of 90 (thorium) and a mass number of 224 (232 - 6 alpha particles - 2 particles
each for the 4 beta particles).

7. A hypothetical radioactive isotope has a half-life of 10,000 years. If the ratio of

radioactive parent to stable daughter product is 1:3, how old is the rock containing the
radioactive material?
t = (-t1/2) * ln(P/Po)

Where:

t = age of the rock

t1/2 = half-life of the parent isotope
P = amount of parent isotope currently present
Po = original amount of parent isotope

We're given the current ratio is 1:3, so the fraction of parent isotope remaining (P/Po) is
1/4
Taking the natural log of 1/4 gives us ln(1/4) = -1.386
Plugging into the equation:
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t = (-10,000 years) * ln(1/4)

t = (-10,000 years) * (-1.386)
t = 13,860 years

Therefore, the age of the rock is approximately 13,860 years.

8. Solve the problems below that relate to the magnitude of Earth history. To make
calculations easier, round Earth’s age to 5 billion years.

a. What percentage of geologic time is represented by recorded history? (Assume 5000 years
for the length of recorded history)
Recorded history is 5000 years.
5000 years / 5 billion years = 0.0001%
Therefore, recorded history represents 0.0001% of geological time.

b. Humanlike ancestors (hominids) have been around for roughly 5 million years. What
percentage of geologic time is represented by these ancestors?
Hominids existed for 5 million years.
5 million years / 5 billion years = 0.1%
Therefore, hominids represent 0.1% of geological time.

c. The first abundant fossil evidence does not appear until the beginning of the
Cambrian period, about 540 million years ago. What percentage of geologic time is represented
by abundant fossil evidence?
Abundant fossils exist since the Cambrian period beginning 540 million years ago.
540 million years / 5 billion years = 10.8%
Therefore, the time with abundant fossils represents 10.8% of total geological time.

9. A portion of a popular college text in Historical Geology includes 10 chapters (281

pages) in a unit titled, “The Story of Earth.” Two chapters (49 pages) are devoted to
Precambrian time. By contrast, the last two chapters (67 pages) focus on the most recent 23
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million years, with 25 of those pages devoted to the Holocene Epoch, which began 10,000 years
ago.
a. Compare the percentage of pages devoted to the Precambrian to the actual percentage
of geologic time that this span represents.

The Precambrian occupies 2 chapters out of 10 total chapters, which is 49 pages out of
281 total pages or 17.4% of the book. However, the Precambrian represents over 85% of
geologic time. So, the book allocates far less coverage than the actual time period warrants.

b. How does the number of pages about the Holocene compare to its actual percentage
of geologic time?
The Holocene Epoch occupies 25 pages out of the total 281 pages, which is 8.9% of the
book's coverage. However, the Holocene only represents about 0.01% of total geologic time. So,
the book allocates greatly disproportionate coverage compared to the actual timespan.

c. Suggest some reasons why the text seems to have such an unequal treatment of
Earth history.
The unequal treatment is likely due to greater availability of information and relevance to
modern society. Precambrian geology is more difficult to study with fewer fossils. In contrast,
the Holocene contains archaeological and historical records crucial to understanding humanity's
past. Later eras see increasing biological complexity and impact on Earth systems. The text
favors better documented, more recent time periods significant to humans over less well
understood, more ancient intervals.

10. This scenic image is from Monument Valley in the northern eastern corner of
Arizona. The bedrock in this region consists of layers of sedimentary rocks. Although the
prominent rock exposures (“monuments”) in this photo are widely separated, we can infer that
they represent a once continuous layer. Discuss the principle that allows us to make this
inference. Michael Collier photo.
The separated rock exposures in the Monument Valley landscape can be inferred to have
once formed a laterally continuous sedimentary layer. That is based on the principle of lateral
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continuity. This principle states that sedimentary deposits made of similar materials will extend
laterally in a uniform sheet-like fashion as they are laid down horizontally. Over a significant
geologic time, erosion progressively wears away the exposed sediment. That ends up carving
away parts of the layered strata and leaving resistant remnants separated by gaps. However, as
the layered rocks were deposited continuously, the principle indicates the isolated rock features
visible today. It however would have originally been joined together in an uninterrupted sheet
before erosion sculpted the present terrain.

11. The accompanying diagram is a cross section of a hypothetical area. Place the
lettered features in the proper sequence, from oldest to youngest. Where in the sequence can you
identify an unconformity?
A: Precambrian
B,F and C: Tertiary
D: Middle and Lower paleozoic
E and K: Tertiary
G: Fault
H: Middle and Lower paleozoic
I: Middle paleozoic
J: Cretaceous
Igneous intrusions (like sills) and faults cut across sedimentary layers. It implies that they
are formed after the layers were deposited. Therefore, horizontal beds are always older than any
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igneous rocks or faults that cut through them. An unconformity is present between strata layers E
and F. An unconformity indicates an erosional break, where part of the stratigraphic section is
missing. That is due to a period of non-deposition or erosion. In this case, the contact between E
and F represents a surface that was exposed to erosion before layer F was deposited. It reveals
that the relative age relationship between these strata. Stratum E is older, having been subjected
to erosion before deposition of the younger layer F. The unconformity signifies a gap in the
geologic record.